Science and Asskickery
by Aliceindeath
Summary: Gaige, new to vault hunting, explores the new world of Pandora. Her fellow vault hunters are her new family, and her protection, as they go through the dangers to Sanctuary together. With unexpected twists, her life is one unstable ride. She has room for love in her life, but will she have room in her heart? Discover how an awkward teenage vault hunter goes about her new life.
1. Chapter 1

"_Pandora is huge."_

That was my first thought of my new home. I had just left my dad at the station after my, uh, accident with Deathtrap and Marcy. But come on, she deserved it. I mean, seriously. Third place? For my masterpiece Deathtrap? You're kidding me. Besides, Marcy won't be laughing at me now. Anyway, so I was in the Trans Planetary shuttle heading down to Pandora. I was thinking about my new life as a vault hunter, about how it would be. I was smart, so that would help. I'd have to learn more about guns, but I figured I'd do alright. When we approached the train station, I saw a few other aspiring vault hunters at the train station I guess these guys would be my temporary family from now on. That thought was weird, though. The vault hunters at the station were in variety. It looked like a short hulk, a ninja, a soldier or something and a- WAIT WHAT?!

"There's a SIREN with us?! Oh my god!"

The pilot looked back, confused. "Uh, yeah. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Are you KIDDING ME?! That's freakin AWESOME!"

I was amazed! A siren! What are the odds! There are only six in existence, and I get to work with one! The shuttle landed, and I rushed out the door and stood in amazement. A siren. Just, wow. My duffel bag wasn't heavy, so I kept it with me as the others loaded their things in the car. They had bags full of guns. Maliwan, Jakobs, Torgue, Dahl… everything a slayer of bandits and bullymongs and god knows what else would want. I hesitantly sat down as the train began to screech and groan as it started to inch forward, and I began my journey to become a vault hunter.

I wasn't sure if I could talk, so I just whispered to no one in particular. "Uh. So hi. I'm Gaige….?" I sounded far more unsure than I would've hoped.

The hulk-midget looked up at me and said in a strong accent "Hello, Gaige. I am Salvador."

Salvador, huh? I barely understood him through his thick accent. He seems like a nice enough guy. Wouldn't want to get on his bad side, or he might actually turn into the hulk.

The siren was reloading her Maliwan, but stopped briefly and extended her hand. "Hey, I'm Maya."

Maya. The siren. She was pretty. But damn… a siren. She could kill me right now if she wanted to and I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it.

"Well, hey my name's Axton, nice to meet you"

Axton, that's a cute name. I think we're going to get along fine. He seems, well, cool. He had something in a sort of case. It looked like some sort of mechanical device. I knew we'd get along fine after that.

I looked over, expecting the ninja guy to say something, but he just sat back_. "Should I say something…?" _I thought.Maybe not. But he looked mysterious. And that mask. What's up with that? I kinda dig that. It looked cool. I wondered what the zero on his suit was for?

"My name is Zero/the bitter winds of death/follow the hunter."

So that's what the zero was for. Okay. Haikus. Cool. The sign says welcome vault hunters, but I didn't feel very welcome. I didn't have any friends, or anyone to talk to, so in a last-ditch attempt to feel some familiarity, I summoned Deathtrap. I may as well work out any kinks from my design for my THIRD PLACE SCIENCE PROJECT. Pushing those thoughts aside, I summoned him, and took out a few of my tools and sta-

Zero, Salvador, Axton and Maya pulled out their guns, as if on command, and pointed them at DT.

"Whoa whoa WHOA! GUYS!" I flailed my arms try to protect DT. "Guys! This is my robot! He's not gonna hurt you!"

"Wait. You BUILT that thing?" Axton looked at me in amazement.

"Yeah, I did. For a science fair. Actually, that's kinda the reason I'm here…."

"Well, we're gonna be here for a while, so why don't you tell us?" his tone was friendly, so I figured, why not indulge him?

"Well, it all started when I heard about the science fair, and ya know, since I'm kind of a genius when it comes to mechanics, I decided to enter. You know, why not? So, I started working on my DT here for anti-bullying and you have it with you and if you were attacked it would find the bully and BEAT the CRAP out of them. It was in the prototype stage when this BITCH Marcy reported it to the principle about like I don't know it maybe being dangerous or something I don't even know. Anyway, I was working on the weapons he'd have, and I was doing target practice with him and stuff and he was amazing! But I didn't know how to deploy him. Like I had a device but you know it was big. And heavy. But, I accidentally cut myself on sheet metal and I mean no big deal, right? I mean, it was only half way to the bone. So I realize, hey why not solve both my problems at once? So I cut off my arm with a proton laser and built a mechanical arm strong enough to smash concrete! Ha ha! It was awesome! Ahem, anyway…" I really had their interest now. I couldn't tell how Zero felt, but he seemed intrigued. "I programmed how to summon DT in my arm and I could summon him any time, any place! But then I realized that bitch Marcy stole my idea, called it crime buster bot, and gave it to the fascist police department! Ugh I HATE her! So, the day of the science fair, her cheap copy-bot could barely hurt a kitten before overheating, and mine was looking good. Like, I was REALLY looking like a genius. But, Marcy's dad has more money than GOD, so he bought off the judge's panel and I got THIRD PLACE. Yeah. Third place. So, she started gloating, and she, uh, pushed… me….. And um well Deathtrap recognized her as a threat, so… I mean he slashed her with his digistruct claws, but you know that's fine. Whatever, that's what he's supposed to do. But… I guess I uh… miscalibrated, and um as soon as his claws touched her skin she uh… exploded…. All over the place okay she like….. All over! And so I got taken to the principal's office and um... I was getting arrested AND expelled for what Deathtrap did to Marcy! So, my dad created a diversion, and, after a brief farewell, I got a shuttle to Pandora. Like, I mean, I've always been kind of… interested in vault hunting… I guess… and maybe here my talents can be put to use." They were all looking at me. Did I do something wrong…? Did I say something…?

Salvador was the first to speak up. "So, you're a fugitive escaping prosecution?"

"Well, I uh, I mean… yeah I guess so."

He looked amused. "Join the club."

"Yeah, we're probably all convicted of something here, most likely more dangerous than unintentional murder." Axton said, slightly humorously.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I'm just here to do research." Maya said with a hint of a smile.

We all turn to look at Zero, expecting him to say why he's here. All he says is "I wanted a challenge."

"A challenge…?" I was hesitant about talking to this guy. He seemed super cool, but dangerous. Like, REALLY frickin dangerous. The train car went quiet, and as I worked on DT, I whispered to myself. _"A siren, an assassin, a commando and a gunzerker… is this really what I want to do? Is there no other way to escape the police…? I'm not sure if I'm exactly safe with them… they seem nice, but that guy Zero…"_

I barely had enough time to finish my thoughts when the welcome sign fell and two loader robots appeared and started attacking us. Zero went to the roof somewhere, Axton ran and launched his machine (some kind of turret, I'll have to ask him about it later), and Maya used her phaselock ability to kill one of them. I really longed for a corrosive elemental gun. I couldn't see where Salvador was, but I was too busy fighting off some bandits. Did they hijack the train? What was happening?

"I'M READY FOR A SPINE TINGLER!"

What the hell?! Is that a psycho?! What the hell is he doing here?!

"HA HA HA HA!" The psycho was killing bandits at random, splashing blood all over the train's walls. Wow, he was actually a good fighter. I occupied myself with a few bandits while Salvador shot off a few loader robot arms, and Axton finished him off with a melee attack. Zero stabbed a Hyperion soldier and kicked the other into the impaled fighter's torso. Awesome. He was an amazing assassin. Was he some kind of ninja..? I'd ask him, but would he even answer…? I wonder if-

A dead Hyperion soldier fell at my feet, stabbed through the stomach. I see Zero standing over him, with his glowing blue sword dripping with fresh blood.

"Be careful, Gaige/for you must pay attention/death is unforgiving."

I stood there, briefly, in awe. Those haikus really are cool. Well, damn, he's really cool. Salvador was using an SMG and… Wait a shotgun?! Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess. Wait- where the hell did the psycho go? After they were all killed, silence settled slowly on the train. We went to see the conductor. Surely he would've noticed something, right? We make our way to the engine. We hurried along, rushing down the aisles, while Zero healed himself with an insta-health. The engine door was in sight, and Salvador kicked it open, only to find the conductor, only to see him strapped to a chair, and the engine stuffed with dynamite.

"It's cute that y'all think you're the heroes of this little adventure, but you're not." Handsome Jack's voice rang through all of our ears, striking fear in our hearts. "Welcome to Pandora, kiddos."

"Oh, fu-"

KABOOM


	2. Chapter 2

Ugh… My head… The first thing I noticed was that my arm, well, my human arm, was freezing. My robotic arm was literally frozen. Shit. I looked around and saw my fellow vault hunters sprawled out on the winter ground. Zero was curled up, as if nursing a stomach wound. Maya and Axton were beside each other, in positions that couldn't be comfortable. Salvador was the only one who looked like he was actually sleeping.

I sighed. "What the hell happened here…?" I heard a soft moaning and turned around abruptly. I saw Zero slowly rising from the snow.

"…?" Zero's puzzling look didn't make me feel any more at ease about the situation. Shouldn't he know what to do when the unexpected happen? Was this the first and last time I would find him speechless?

"So… Listen, Zero we need to figure out what the hell we should do." My voice was unsteady. My head was still foggy from the explosion, and I almost didn't hear Axton become conscious over the ringing in my ears.

"Ugh… Gaige…? What happened…?"

"I uh… I really couldn't tell you anymore than you can." I felt discombobulated. My head throbbed with pain, and my arm only just started to move again.

Maya began to speak softly. "Whoever did this is gonna get their ass kicked into the next Galaxy." She groaned slightly as she lifted herself up.

"Revenge is risky/dig a grave for more than one/we tread with caution." Zero's voice was firm, but unsteady with irritation.

"Guys. Listen to Zero. Let's think about this logically. I may not be a soldier or strategically inept, but c'mon. I don't want to go charging to my death any more than you want to let Handsome Jack slip away."

Salvador woke with a start. "What the hell is going on?!"

Axton sighed, ignoring Salvador. "Listen, there's a CL4P-TP unit. Maybe we can ask him for help…?"

I scowled. "Those damned steward bots make me want to shoot myself."

"Don't you think you're being a BIT over dramatic, Gaige?"

"Hah, not in the slightest."

As the unit approached, I prepared myself for the avalanche of useless blabber that would follow.

"Whoa, hey you guys. Are you vault hunters? Wow what a wreck! Handsome Jack's been busy! So, you guys stuck here? Wanna be my minions and help me get out of this hellhole? Captain Flynt's got my ship, and we can go to Sanctuary! Yes! Finally I can leave! After Jack killed my product line, I've been sitting here, sulking! What are your names? All my friends call me Claptrap, or they would if they existed."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed again. "Honestly, guys, how long are we gon-"

Maya interrupted me. "So, you want our help in exchange to an easy way to Sanctuary?"

I snorted. "Easy? Careful what words you use. The road will be riddled with bullymongs and bandits and psychos and marauders and god knows what else. But, relatively speaking, yeah, it'd be an easier route if he already has a ship in port, ready to go. We'll have to deal with whatever else Handsome Jack throws at us as well. Obviously, there's Captain Flynt to consider, and I doubt he'll be lenient in giving us his boat back. So, we'll just have to kick his ass to the afterlife and see what we can do from there."

Axton stifles a laugh. "And you think HE talks a lot?"

"At least my information is useful," I snapped. I didn't want to be mean, but c'mon. We had to get a move on before Jack gets wind of us being alive. "And we really need to move."

Salvador spoke, almost to himself. "She's got a point, you know. We should get a move on before anything else that's bad news comes our way." Heh. Finally, someone who understood.

Axton lingered in his thoughts for a while. "Alright, guys. Claptrap, I guess you've got yourself a deal."

"GREAT! Now I can get off this glacier! And I'm guaranteed to be safe with a bunch of vault hunters!" and after that, we set out on our adventure, not sure what the future would hold.


	3. Chapter 3

A few months later, we found ourselves at Ellie's, fighting off a bunch of bandit patrol trucks, trying to get all the badass parts we needed to fool those morons into opening the doors for us. I was taking heavy fire, and Deathtrap wasn't faring too well, either. I backed up, and ducked behind a rock. Shit, I need to upgrade my reload speed on my Maliwan shotgun. All of a sudden, I see Zero reappear a foot away from me.

"Where have you been, 'deadly assassin'?" I said with a hint of humour, grinning widely as I spoke.

He looked at me, and playfully punched my arm. "It is not easy/covering for your mistakes/you should try harder." I could tell it was a humourous tone, so I laughed lightly as I killed the marauders coming towards us.

Our newest member of the pack, Krieg the psycho, was laughing hysterically as he sliced another psycho's head in half. Man, that guy's a riot. A few days after the wreck, we noticed him watching us, and he eventually just started walking with us. He was a good fighter, so we didn't put up a fuss about it. And, just like that, he became a "vault hunter". After a short run-in with a few patrols, we gathered all the pieces necessary. We headed back to Ellie's, and I decided to hang back with Zero. I noticed Maya and Krieg trying to talk, to translate from psycho to English, and laughed as they struggled to communicate, as they've been doing for weeks.

"Hey, Zero?" I said, out of earshot.

He looked at me, expecting a follow-up statement.

"Do you think they'll ever end up together? Maya and Krieg, I mean?"

His body language seemed puzzled, but he just shrugged.

"I mean, c'mon. Don't tell me you don't see it. They've GOT to have something going on. Otherwise, why would they be trying so hard to understand each other?"

He paused for a moment, and looked what seemed to be in my eyes. "Love is a strange thing/people are desperate/to feel connection." His tone suddenly became very serious, and I held his gaze. I found myself looking away, but I wasn't sure why.

I wasn't exactly sure 100% of my feelings for Zero, and I wanted to ask what he thought of me, but it always seemed too childish, and would he even answer? I knew I liked him. I mean, shit, I REALLY liked him. He's always so… dangerous and mysterious, but he was two-faced. He was also caring and sincere, but ambiguous. He confused me. I never knew what he meant when he spoke. Did anyone, really? I couldn't understand it, and it drove me crazy. And I loved it. But, the only thing I really, desperately wanted to figure out about him, for sure without a shadow of a doubt, his feelings for me. But, I could never let on how much I thought about him. I'm not into that mushy love crap, I just was fascinated. Fascinated by how he fought. How he spoke. How he looked at life. It was all a mystery, and I was determined to figure it out.

When Zero and I and the rest of us arrived at Ellie's place, she seemed ecstatic. She was such a nice woman, and she was so easy to talk to, and easily one of the sweetest people I've ever met. Despite her mother asking her to change herself for a strip club-type life (which I never would've done either), and her brother having a crush on her (stereotypical redneck much?), she was faring pretty well on her own out here in The Dust.

"Why, ain't that just perfect! Now we can getcha rollin'!" her voice was excited and genuinely happy. You just have to love her.

Axton was repairing his Sabre Turret after taking a lot of damage, and I decided to do the same to my DT.

"That's a nice piece of work you got there, Axton." It was true. His turret was pretty amazing. Of course, my DT was more so, but I'd never admit that to his face.

"Hah, thanks. It's saved my life more times than I care to admit…"

"I know what you mean. DT has saved mine more times than I've saved his by a longshot. But, that's why I built him, so…"

"He really does care about you, you know."

"Hmm? Sorry..?"

"Zero. He does care about you. It'd take a fool not to see it. But, knowing him, he won't tell you till he's either dying, or it's the end of the world. He's… different like that." I found myself blushing as he mentioned Zero. I hurriedly packed up my things from the work bench, thanked Axton and retreated to the safety and solitude behind the garage. I had to reflect on what Axton just said. Did he really care, or did he just say that to make me feel better about my feelings for him?

"Argh!" I screamed in frustration. What was I going to do?! I had to forget him. I had to forget how he made me feel and how he spoke to me and how much I liked him. I had to, or else it would all be too much. I didn't have time for petty crushes. We were trying to find the new vault and take down Handsome Jack for crying out loud! I felt I had to get out of there. I decided to go to a fast travel and go back to Claptrap's place for some alone time and some space from everyone. I quietly packed my things while everyone slept in a few tents outside the garage. I slipped past them easily. The events of earlier today had them exhausted and tired, and they were in a deep sleep. I looked back at the tents. A pang of guilt struck me, but I knew I'd be back soon. I fled into the night, covered by darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

I arrived at Claptrap's old place. The memories of our first arrival flooded my mind. There was a certain feeling that I got when I got there. Home? Not quite. It was… comforting, and I welcomed the change of scenery. I used the long hours during the night that followed to reflect on my decisions from the past few hours. I had to forget Zero, but I knew it wouldn't be so easy. I sat there, on the broken, torn couch in Claptrap's place, and thought about how I could forget someone so prominent in my life for the past few months. Someone who's saved my life more times than I can count. Someone that I can't forget, no matter how hard I try. I couldn't forget him, I just had to bury my feelings, deep down where they could never see the light again. In the hours that followed, I sat there, freezing, and thinking about how I could forget someone that I knew nothing about, but whom I cared about so deeply. Eventually, I left. I had to, or else they might get worried, or leave The Dust entirely. I was more worried that they'd leave me and forget me. I got back to the fast travel by his place and eventually got back to Ellie's, and was relieved to find the tents still in their original places. I sat on the steps leading up to the garage, waiting for the sun to rise, as well as my friends. Not an hour ago, I was drowning in my thoughts but now, my mind felt crystal clear. I knew I couldn't let anything, even someone like Zero, interfere with our mission. All it would do is distract me, and ultimately make our progress slower. Forgetting him could save my life, and I don't want to take the chance that I could die. Slowly, as the sun rose, my friends' heads started to appear at the tent opening. Maya was the first one up, and I waved her over.

"Hey, girl. How'd you sleep?" Maya's voice was tired, but happy.

"I slept well. Not so many nightmares anymore." The lie slipped out so easily. But, she knew of my nightmares. The ones that began after I left home. The ones after I discovered my feelings for Zero. It was all too much, and Zero would be one more thing off my mind, for which I was grateful.

"That's…. good." she said through a yawn. "Wanna go grab breakfast?"

"Yeah… that sounds amazing. I'm starving."

We headed to the garage in search of Ellie, and it seems that she had already set out some milk and cereal, and left a note behind:

_Good mornin' y'alls! Hope you all slept well! I left some breakfast for ya. I'll be back at around 5pm, so don't wait up!_

_Love, Ellie_

I sighed. She was such a nice woman. Maya and I ate quickly, and decided to wake the others up. We walked across the gap between the garage and the tents, only to find that Zero as nowhere to be found. Maya looked at me, worriedly, but I just shrugged and we moved on to Salvador's and Axton's tent.

Maya spoke to them softly. "Wake up sleepyheads. Time to kill some bitches."

Axton groaned and rolled over, and Salvador didn't make a sound.

"Ugh I swear, you guys are the laziest people ever." She turned to me and spoke briefly. "I'll be right back…"

I waited a minute or so, and she came back with an echo recording. I had no idea what was on it, but she was smirking, so I covered my ears. She gave me a wink and played the recording. At first, there was nothing, but then a horrible screeching noise came from the echo.

"WHAT THE HELL MAYA?!" Axton swore profusely and eventually got up. Salvador rose slowly from his sleeping bag looking like he wakes up to the sound of tortured cats every morning.

"Haha, nice work, Maya." I high fived her and laughed lightly. "Hey, Axton. Do you know where Zero is?"

He groaned slightly, and slowly responded. "Ugh… Um no I have no idea. Sorry."

I sighed, defeated. "Alright, thanks. Breakfast's on the table."

I wandered around for a few minutes, restless, but level-headed. I wondered how I would've reacted a year ago if someone had told me that THIS is where my life would be. Don't get me wrong, I love it. The adrenaline rush is incredible. I sat down on the dirt behind the garage, unexpectedly overwhelmed with a wave of fatigue. All of a sudden, I heard the crunch of feet against sand. I spun around quickly, only to have Zero grab my wrist, stopping me dead in my tracks. He seemed to glare at me, and I suddenly felt scared, thinking he could hurt me. I knew he wouldn't. Would he..? He seemed so unpredictable I never knew what he'd do.

He spoke to me quietly, and that was the scariest part. "I saw you leave us/it is dangerous to go/alone, you could die."

"I… I'm sorry I just had to go for a bit. Clear my head, you know…" my voice barely came out as a whisper.

He just stood there gripping my wrist, and then suddenly let go. It wasn't easy to forget my feelings for him, especially since I'd see him every day, but I tried my best. But I knew my best wouldn't be enough, not for a long time. Suddenly I got really mad. Why was he keeping tabs on me, anyway?!

"You know what?! Just leave me alone! I don't need a babysitter to keep track of where I am all the time! Just go!"

With that, he slowly started to step back, and then disappeared back into the garage somewhere. I felt horrible for talking to him like that, but I had to. If it kept him away from me and made it easier for me ultimately, it was for the best. It was getting late when we decided to leave Ellie's and The Dust for Sanctuary. We all got together, the six of us, and collectively thanked Ellie, except Krieg. I'm sure he meant "Thank you", but what came out was entirely different. "LET'S ALL RIDE MY MEAT BICYCLE!" She laughed. Good enough, I guess.

We got to the fast travel and in a matter of seconds we arrived in Sanctuary.

"Guys, I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat, like now." My stomach was growling, and I could barely stand it anymore.

"Alright. Let's go to Moxxi's, then." He looked relieved to get some food as well.

It didn't take us long to get to her place. I could see the glowing "Moxxxi's" sign above the door, and it didn't take long to hear the ramblings of drunken citizens. We went in and sat down and ordered some food for all of us. It was me, Axton, Zero and Salvador in one booth, and Maya and Krieg in another. We could hear their laughing over the blaring music. I chose to sit next to Axton instead of my usual place next to Zero. When we got our food, we sat and ate in silence. The food was delicious, no matter how upset I was. I was too starving to pass up dinner, and I _certainly _wasn't gonna let my mood show more than it already has.

"So, Salvador, wanna tell us about the time you took on two badass bullymongs and got out with barely a scratch?" I wanted a distraction, and knowing Salvador and his long stories, I'd get more than that.

He plunged into his story with wild gestures and loud sound effects and lots of gory, and somewhat vulgar, details of his experience. He made me laugh every time he told his stories.

Axton, Salvador and Zero kept talking while I sat in silence. I didn't want to engage in talking with Zero. I wanted desperately to leave the room. It started to feel stuffy, and the walls felt like they would close in. Suddenly, I felt dizzy, and I couldn't sit up straight. I ran straight out of Moxxi's, and kept running till I got to Roland's place, and then collapsed on the bed. I breathed heavily and my skin broke out in a cold sweat, my vision getting fuzzy. What was going on?! A sharp pain was suddenly apparent in my left side. I lifted up my shirt, only to find a Skag barb lodged in my skin, just under my ribcage._ "How did that get there...?!" _I thought to myself._ "I'm going to die… Right here, right now."_ Not a moment later, I saw Zero over me, inspecting the barb. He spoke to me, but his words were lost. My vision was too blurred, but it looked like he was actually panicking. I couldn't be sure because I felt like black ants were crawling across my eyes, and I was fading. In a matter of seconds, my vision went black, and I lost consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

I slowly woke up. My vision was now clear, but it took me a moment to process where I was. I was still on Roland's bed, but I was hooked up to some sort of a machine. I hoped Dr. Zed didn't operate on me, because if that was the case, I'd likely be missing an organ or two. I eventually sat up in order to properly look around. I saw Zero sleeping in a chair beside me. I felt my heart sink. Was he there for me..? I stood up, a little woozy, and made my way to the chair he was in.

I spoke to him softly. "Zero? Hey, Zero. You can wake up now, sleepyhead."

He slowly rose from his chair, a bit confused, and his eyes seemed to settle on me.

"Gaige…" he whispered softly, just enough for me to hear. He hugged me, tightly holding my body against his, for a long time. I put my arms around him, too, enjoying the moment. He looked frantic right before I went out cold, but I wasn't sure if that was my imagination or not. But, this moment confirmed that he genuinely was scared for me. I pulled away, despite my emotions screaming in protest.

"What… happened? I mean, before I blacked out?"

He was about to answer, but Axton came in and answered faster. "You had a Skag barb in your side. Scared us all half to death. Thankfully, Dr. Zed had an antidote on hand, and it counter-acted the poison just before it got to your heart. Welcome back to the world of the living, kiddo." And with that, he embraced me too. But it wasn't as before with Zero. It was a faster, friendlier hug, compared to his relief-filled, affectionate one.

"So… I'll live?" I said with humour.

"Maybe. Maybe we should keep you away from the action for a little while. Might be for the best." He said, winking.

"Hah, fat chance of that happening." I said, punching his arm playfully.

Axton left the room, leaving only me and Zero alone again. I slowly walked towards him.

"Listen, I'm sorry about how rude I was towards you earlier. I… I just had to distance myself from you, because I… I was afraid." I spoke to him with slight sadness in my voice.

He came towards me and cupped my face in his hands. He spoke to me softly and carefully. "Afraid of what?"

"I was… afraid of my feelings for you. I was afraid of how much you fascinated me, and how much you distracted me. Listen I'm really bad at apologies, and telling people my feelings, so can we just leave it at that?" I looked down at my feet, expecting him to leave me, but instead he took me by surprise.

He laughed lightly and took me in his arms. "Oh, Gaige…" he shook his head, laughing a bit more.

"W-what? Why're you laughing? Are you laughing at me?! Dude, what the hell!" I said playfully.

We both walked out of the room and joined the others. They all had sleeping bags on the floor. Maya and Krieg were playing cards, or they were trying to, and Salvador and Axton were talking about which guns they prefer in a bullymong fight.

I tentatively spoke, to no one in particular. "Uh, hey guys. How are you guys doing?" with that, they all looked up at me, and collectively smiled.

Salvador came up to me and bear hugged me. He spoke in his thick accent. "Hey, girl! We all missed you!"

"Ha ha. Missed me? How long was I out?"

He looked at me, the smile still present on his face, but slightly confused. "You've been half-dead for 5 days."

I gasped. 5 days?! How was that possible? How could I have lost so much time in my sleep?

Axton rose up from his spot by the table and came over to me. He looked at me, but tapped Zero on the shoulder. "Yeah, and this guy stayed by your side the whole time. It was damned near impossible to get him away from you, just for a second, even to eat."

I looked at Zero briefly, then at the floor, blushing. But I thought about my near-death, and something didn't make sense. "But, why not just let me die? I mean, wouldn't I have respawned at the Hyperion Reconstruction Station thingy?"

Axton met my inquiring gaze and sighed. "The reason we rushed after you is we had just heard at Moxxi's on one of Roland's echoes that Hyperion deactivated all their Reconstruction equipment in the area. Damn smart move on their part. We have to be extra careful from now on."

I suddenly felt very nauseous. The world was spinning around me. "Uh, I'll be right back." I rushed to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. I could hear Maya and Axton talking.

I heard Maya's voice first. "Is she gonna be okay?"

Axton spoke in a more hushed tone than hers. "Doc said these were side effects from the poison. She may have to deal with this for the next few days."

I finished washing my face and brushing my teeth before coming out again. I went outside to get some fresh air, and looked at our wanted posters stapled to the wall.

"_Axton: wanted for war crimes_

_Maya: wanted for being a siren_

_Zero: wanted for political assassination_

_Salvador: wanted for cannibalism, public indecency, manslaughter, theft, arson, destruction of property, trespassing, profanity. "_

Hm. Well, Salvador had definitely accumulated a lot of violations of the law. It was laughable how judging by the poster, you'd think he'd be mean and cruel, but he was the exact opposite. At least with us, anyway. All I had in the way of a poster was my picture and a reward, which I noted was a hell of a lot higher than the other ones. Krieg was also there on the wanted list. I laughed to myself. I loved how being a siren was considered a sort of "crime". I heard the sound of shoes on gravel and turned around swiftly. I sighed. It was just Zero.

"Hey you. Don't creep up on me like that."

He shrugged. "I'm glad you're alive/I was worried that you'd die/we all were, really." There was something else in his voice. Sorrow? Relief?

"Thanks. I mean, for watching out for me while I was unconscious."

Again he shrugged helplessly. "I had no choice/I could not watch you die/I care about you…"

That was as good a cue as I was ever going to get, so I took it. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him gently. I held myself against him for a long time, hoping to absorb some of his strength. I threw my previous thoughts about getting too attached out the window. But how could I afford to love someone whom I could lose at any moment? I let go of him, backing off a bit, feeling shy.

"Sorry… I'll uh… I should probably head back inside." I backed away and slowly returned to Roland's foyer.

I sat down at the table with Salvador and Axton and got down to business. "So what's our plan? What do we do now?"

Axton laughed lightly. "Whoa, slow down there, tiger. You're not even better yet."

"I'm not dead and that's 'better' enough for me. We need to talk about what we're going to do now. We've wasted a lot of time with my near-death experience, and now we need to figure out a way to compensate for that loss of time."

Salvador sighed. "You're determined, I'll give you that. Well, we need to form a plan about how to rescue Roland. Without him, Sanctuary's doomed. Not to mention, we need to find Lilith-"

I interrupted him. "Wait, who's Lilith?"

"Oh, right. You don't know her. She is, or was, their relationship is complicated, his girlfriend. She could help us find him. Truth is, we don't know where she is either. She's a siren, so we think she's hiding on purpose. Actually, she faked her own death so Handsome Jack wouldn't go after her."

I sighed. "Well, do we have any leads or clues as to where she might be hiding?"  
"Yes, actually. We're thinking of investigating a clan who worships the 'Firehawk'. We think they mean her. If they have any information about her… that could help us out a lot."

I thought about everything I had just heard. About Lilith, about the Firehawk and I made my decision on the matter. "So, how soon can we go?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Ugh. I HATE ants." I said as they came charging towards us. The road to the Firehawk worshipers wasn't an easy one, but it was fun. Plus, she was our only hope at finding Roland.

Maya laughed at my squirming. "Maybe you should've brought more bug spray."

"Ha-ha I'm laughing so hard." I said back sarcastically, winking.

Zero and Axton were taking on a Badass, while Salvador, Maya and I fought off the others, keeping them at bay. I saw Axton trudging over out of the corner of my eye, bleeding.

He came up beside me, nudging my arm. "Hey, you got an insta-health I can borrow? I'm kinda dying here."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the pink-looking vial, and gave it to him. "Sure. Maybe next time you should ask for a little more help." I said, tapping my robotic arm, suggesting the use of Deathtrap.

He injected the vial into his thigh where a deep cut was present. After a few seconds, the gash was gone, as well as some minor cuts and bruises on his arms. "Well, maybe next time, I shouldn't have to invite you." He noticed the grimace on my face and punched my arm lightly. "Hey Gaige," his voice dropped to a whisper, barely audible over the sound of the remaining dying ants. "I think Zero could use some of that stuff. If you have any to spare… You know what to do. We can't lose him."

I nodded and walked over to where Zero was standing. Well, more hunching over than anything. I spoke to him as calmly as I could, but I was freaking out. He had a wide, deep gash reaching from his stomach to his hip. And there was so much blood…

"Zero… Zero okay c'mon we need to get you healed up. I can't help you if you're hunched over like that." I put his one arm around me to bear some of his weight as I gently, but awkwardly, laid him down on the snow. "Okay, sweetheart, time to get to work. This might sting a bit…" I injected the insta-health right into the laceration. He winced, cringing as I was trying to heal him.

I was having trouble keeping my voice steady. If his body was reacting like this, I could only imagine how contorted his face was in pain… I couldn't think about that now. The first insta-health healed it up a decent amount. The bleeding stopped, but it left some nasty scarring and that couldn't be comfortable to move with. I had half an insta-health left, so I injected the rest into his abdomen. The scarring healed fair bit, but the lines were still present. I did the best I could, and I don't know if it was good enough.

"Alright, I think that's all I can do for now. Can you sit up?"

He slowly rose up from his place in the snow. The white fluff around where his body used to lie was stained a deep red with his blood. He stood up, holding his stomach, but standing. That alone brought a small smile creeping on my face.

"How are you feeling now?" I asked him, brushing the snow off my shirt.

"The wounds are healing/thanks for taking care of me/did you call me sweetheart?"

I stared at my feet, feeling my face get hot. "So, um, we should catch up with the others, right? Let's go." I hurriedly walked towards the group and away from Zero, feeling my face get even hotter.

I caught up with Axton, figuring I should tell him that Zero's okay.

"So, uh, Zero's fine, he's healed up and okay to walk and stuff now. We can move on."

Axton laughed. "Why're you blushing? Did he kiss you or something?"

"W-what?! No! Why would you even think that? He has a mask on, anyway. That could, like, never happen!"

Axton, Maya, Salvador and Krieg collectively laughed at me. I rolled my eyes and walked away. Sometimes, high school seemed easier to understand than these guys. But at least here I could kill people if I got too frustrated. I stood on the outskirts of Blackburn cavern looking out on the remnants of the carnage that took place not an hour ago. Zero came up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder.

He glanced over at me and spoke softly. "What is wrong, Gaige? /you can always talk to me/I will help you, dear."

My heart started racing. I only heard one word. He called me dear. I stuttered for a moment before completing a remotely intelligent response. "I guess… I feel like everyone here treats me like a child. And I'm sick of it. I mean I have one of the highest XP out of all of us, next to you, Krieg and maybe Axton. They treat me as if I'm weak. I'm not necessarily an amazing fighter, but that's why I built DT! I mean, come on!"

He sighed. "You are much younger/they only care about you/you know I do too."

I felt my heart sink to my stomach. I knew what he was saying. "I know, but I just want them to realize that my input and my war strategies are actually worth their attention. Just a little recognition and not getting the shit jobs once in a while would be nice."

He laughed lightly, lacking in humour. "You get the 'shit' jobs? /healing me was not worth it? /you are important."

"What..? No! That's not what I meant! I just mean that it's always me cleaning up after their mistakes and they never even admit that once in a while, I may actually be right!"

He took me in his arms, his one hand around my waist, the other on the back of my head, pressing my body to his. There was a crash in the cavern, and I felt Zero's body tense up. It was just Krieg knocking over one of the empty loot chests off the table of the raging goliath's huts. Maya rolled her eyes and laughed at him, but he picked her up and twirled her around. She laughed and hit his arm, trying to make him let go.

I laughed quietly, just loud enough for just us to hear. Zero let go of me and walked towards them, laughing himself. I stood there, for a moment, looking. Just looking. Looking at my friends and how they were. Looking at how they were my family, no matter what circumstances brought us together. Looking at the fact that no matter what, I would protect them, and I would die for them.


	7. Chapter 7

We went on to find the Firehawk worshipers. On the way, Salvador blew the head off of a raging goliath, and it started running after him and Axton, and Maya and I ran after them and shot the goliath down before he could strangle Salvador. We all had a good laugh about that, and I knew it would add to Salvador's list of amazing stories to tell over and over and over again. After an hour of waking around in circles, with Maya trying to navigate, we finally got to the camp.

"Oh my God, finally. My feet are _killing _me." Maya dramatically collapsed onto a rock. Krieg rolled his eyes and picked her up in his arms. She squealed in protest, but then went quiet.

We looked around the camp. Statues and buildings lit on fire burned bright, illuminating the surrounding area. Barrels of corrosive materials burned at every corner. The statues in her honour, upon closer inspection, were burnt psycho midgets, supposedly giving themselves up as a sacrifice for their, uh, Goddess, the Firehawk. Her name was scrawled across every surface in the camp. The place felt a bit eerie, and I felt a bit uneasy about being here. It was a cult of strange psycho stalkers for a siren they thought was a Goddess. We walked up to the door of the main building and knocked. A crazy guy dressed in nothing but a loin cloth and feathers came out, chanting something. We were all taken aback, and I put my hand on the pistol at my side.

"PRAISE OUR GODDESS THE FIREHAWK!" he screamed to no one in particular.

After I got over the shock of seeing this guy, I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Oh my God."

Axton took the initiative of talking to him first. "So, do you have any idea where she is? The, uh, Firehawk?"

"Our Goddess, the great Firehawk, has not been seen for weeks! She resides high up on that mountain above us!" he pointed to the top of the mountain dramatically.

Axton thanked him and came back to us, half walking, half running.

"Hey, uh so I think this guy might be right." Axton said quietly.

I thought about it for a moment. "I don't see a reason why we shouldn't. If there was any source that would be the most reliable, it'd be an overly obsessed stalker cult."

I looked at Zero for approval, and he nodded. "I agree with you/we must find the Firehawk/we have to go soon." I smiled to myself.

Salvador loaded his shotgun giddily. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Krieg raised his buzz ax and screamed out. "SHE CAN TASTE THE BLOODY HATRED!"

We went through the winding caves to reach the top. After a while and a few rounds of ammo later, we got to the top. We found a metal building, and went inside, only to find it empty. We found safes filled with Eridium and ammo, and we knew at least she was here at one point.

Maya went to take some of the Eridium, but I stopped her. "Stop. Wait. Just, wait a second."

A moment later, a woman with bright red hair and threads of blue crawling up her arm appeared in the center of the room.

Lilith looked up at us. "'Sup?"


	8. Chapter 8

We quickly got Lilith some Eridium. She told us she needs it to help her after she uses a large amount of her powers. She absorbed the Eridium into her body and stood up.

"So, I'm assuming you're here for something?"

Everyone was just in awe for a moment, so I spoke first. "Yeah, we need your help with something. We need you to help us find Roland."

She shook her head. "Ah, I see. Well, I only know bits and pieces of where he is. I don't know much, but it could help you."

"Bits and pieces is more than we could hope for."

"Good, 'cause it's all I got. So listen carefully. I heard that Jack took him to a holding facility, where he's guarded by Bloodshots. I know where the camp is, so I can take you there. The only thing I don't know is what else he's guarded by. There could be loader robots, HOT loaders, WAR loaders… ii really don't know. And if Wilhelm's there, he's screwed."

"… Well, at least we know where he is. We can deal with whatever comes. I guess we'll have to." I sighed and moved to sit down. It'd been a long day so far, and I could've used a rest.

Axton jumped in. "Are you going to join us? We could use a siren-" Maya glared at him. "-another siren, with a different ability, to help us."

She breathed in deeply. "No, I don't think I can. I need to go to Sanctuary to help with Roland's plan. I'll guide you as much as possible via Echo."

They launched into a conversation about strategies and guns, a topic that after all the action we had that day, I was not terribly interested in. I walked to the far end of the structure, and decided to reload all my guns, in case we decided to go to Roland's rescue tonight, however unlikely it was. I just needed something to distract my mind from all the things I had seen.

Zero came up beside me and spoke to me quietly, as if not to alert the others of the shocking things that he was about to say. "Hey, are you alright? After today, with me almost dying and all, you seem a bit… Shaken up. Am I correct in assuming this?"

I was taken aback. He wasn't speaking in haikus, and he was even speaking more or less normally. "Whoa, man. You're not speaking in haikus."

He laughed lightly. "Yeah, I guess I'm not. I just do it in front of other people. But I figure, I can trust you enough to keep a secret, right?"

I nodded my head, and waited a beat. "So, how do you recite haikus so easily, like its second nature?"

He shrugged. "Practice. After a while, you see the words as numbers as well, and it just comes naturally. For example, I know automatically that the cumulative syllables in this sentence is twenty nine. It just comes naturally after a while. Plus, it freaks people out a lot."

I turned to him. "Personally, when I heard it for the first time, I thought it was charming, but slightly…"

"… odd?" he finished.

"Yeah, maybe a little. But really cool."

"Listen, I don't believe we will be going after Roland tonight, so you can relax a little. You could use some rest."

"Oh, really? Why do you say that?"

"We've all been through a lot today. We'll need to be at our very best tomorrow to prepare for whatever may come our way."

I contemplated this for a moment. "Fair enough. So, I have another question for you, if you're willing."

He nodded his head. "I don't see why not."

"Why the mask?"

He paused for a few moments too long. "… Let's... Perhaps save that for another time, shall we? We should join the others, or they'll get suspicious."

"Suspicious of what?"

He only looked at me, laughing a little. I asked him again. "Suspicious of what?"

He lead me away from the edge of the building, towards the others.

Salvador saw us, and smiled. I knew he'd say something stupid. "So, you two here to tell us you're going to elope or something?"

Axton joined in. "Yeah, when's the wedding?" he snickered.

I shot daggers at them. "Shut up, you two." I was only partially kidding.

Maya came over, looking pleased with herself. "So, Lilith told me there was a shower nearby. Wanna go check it out?"

I smiled. "Oh my god that sounds amazing."

She smiled even wider, like she was so amused with what she was going to tell me. "It gets better. Apparently, there's a small bandit camp by it. We'll have to kick bandit ass to take a shower."

I truly laughed for the first time all day. "What could be better?"

We told the others where we were going, and then headed out. We were going down to take care of the bandit camp first, but it was a bit of a walk.

She turned to me, and spoke excitedly. "So. You and Zero. What's going on?"

I sighed slowly. "Nothing…" _"yet…" _I added in my head.


	9. Chapter 9

Maya and I arrived at the bandit camp. With my Maliwan fire elemental shotgun, and my corrosive elemental sniper, it took us no time at all. Maya used her phaselock to stop one of the marauders, and I shot the shit outta him. It was AWESOME. After the slaughter was over, and we looted all the corpses (we got some AMAZING loot!), we headed towards the showers. We got in, and the ceramic off white tiles and the light grey shower curtains seemed like heaven.

Maya turned on the water to heat it up and sighed. "Oh my god, this is heaven."

I did the same, stripping down as well. "Showers are the one thing I could never live without. The guys should shower too… but honestly I feel like they won't."

I barely heard Maya over the running water. "Meh, their loss."

I showered for about ten minutes, and then got out. I felt heavenly. Clean, for the first time in ages, it felt. I quickly got dressed, and put the towel back on the rack.

We heard a knock on the door. More like a banging, actually. "CAN I RIDE MY CHICKEN FOR THE WAR RIOT?!" Krieg.

Maya must've known what he meant, even though I couldn't understand. She answered, laughing. "You can come in, only if you want to see me naked."

There was a brief silence, and then Krieg tried the handle. I rolled my eyes I called out to Maya, who was laughing harder now. "I'm planning on going back to base now. Want me to stay here, or is it cool if I just go?"

"Nah, it's fine, you can go. I don't have a problem with it. Just, don't let Krieg in?"

I giggled. "Deal."

I walked back up to the building, shivering. It was freezing, but the shower was worth it. I deployed DT, not for support, but just for company. I liked having him around. It reminded me of home, in some ways, but also of everything I had faced in the past few months. I walked in the door of the structure, and a wave of warmth washed over me.

Axton came up to me. "How was the shower?"

"Oh my god, it was better than chocolate."

"Ha-ha, I take it it was good?"

"Good is an understatement by a longshot."

I walked over to Zero, who was sitting by himself on the steps to a bedroom. I sat down beside him and sighed.

He spoke to me in that calm demeanor again. "You smell nice."

I felt my face getting hot. I smelled my hair, and determined it did smell good. "Thanks. You should have a shower too. They're so good."

Zero looked up at me, and I just realized what I said. "No! Like, you don't NEED a shower, just, it's nice, and… Well… Argh! You suck.

He laughed to himself. "I didn't say anything. And thank you. If you show me where the showers are, for your benefit solely, I will take a shower."

I laughed, half nervously, and got up. "Alright, just tell me when you need me."

I thought about Maya and Krieg. They had been gone for a while, and I wondered what was keeping them. I smiled as I thought of their history. Their shy flirting, Krieg's awkward attempts to speak normally for Maya to understand him. It was cute, and I hoped that they would admit their feelings for each other. Or, if they already had (which would not surprise me), they would tell me. I would love to know, but maybe that's just my girly gossip side showing. I didn't like that side so much, so I shut that thought down quickly. But then, I couldn't help but think, what about me and Zero? Did we have something? COULD we have something? Finally, did I _want_ us to have something? I thought I knew I wanted us to have something, but I still didn't know how he felt about me, and that clouded my thoughts. Everyone else seemed to think he felt strongly about me, but Zero isn't at all what he appears to be. But, the very fact that I knew that indicated that he had opened himself up to me enough, and he trusts me, so he might care about me. The thoughts confused and frustrated me, so I discarded it and pressed on.

I walked to see Salvador and Axton. "Hey, guys. You got a game plan yet? How are we gonna kill those robotic bitches?"

Salvador pointed at a map of the Bloodshot hideout area. "Well, there are about 6 rooms to go through before we get to the holding tank. Within those rooms, we're expecting a lot of marauders, psychos and bandits. There may be some badasses as well, we can't rule that out either. If that's the case, we're gonna have a hell of a good time blasting the shit out of those bastards."

I smiled at his enthusiasm. "Sounds like we'll have a hell of a good time, indeed. So when are we gonna leave tomorrow?"

Axton answered me this time. "Well, we're thinking later in the evening, for the cover of darkness, when they'll be sleeping."

I waited a moment before answering. "But, wait. They're psychos and drunks for the most part, right? So, wouldn't they be sleeping more during the day than anything else? So, if that's the case, shouldn't we plan to get there at around, let's say, mid-morning?"

Axton pondered this for a while. "Well, I uh, huh. That might actually be more accurate. Damn, if that shit works…"

"…then I'm a genius. I keep trying to tell you guys."

Salvador shrugged. "She may have a point."

Zero appeared by my side. "She has a good point/attacking at night is smart/it's a clever plan."

Suddenly, Lilith is on my other. "She has a good thought. Whether or not it will work is still up in the air, but the chances that she's right are definitely considerable. I think we should proceed with her plan. From my experience, bandits and marauders are definitely heavy drinkers. Plus, the nomads look Russian. They probably have ample supplies of vodka. It's not farfetched idea at all, and it's brilliant, to say the least."

Axton raised one eyebrow and smiled. "Well, it's decided. We'll leave in the morning."


	10. Chapter 10

We left early in the morning to start our "mission rescue Roland". We ate breakfast on the way, but even after I finished my apple, I was still starving. My stomach made noises in protest to my stopping eating.

Zero looked at me. I suddenly felt self-conscious, and he tossed me the remaining half of his apple. I don't remember him eating any of his, but I learned not to question gifts.

"Here, eat some more food/you need to have all your strength/today you'll need it."

Right. We're in public. I had gotten so used to him speaking normally, that hearing him speak in haikus was odd.

"Thanks, I appreciate it."

I walked alongside him, close enough that our fingers touched, just lightly. Without looking at me, he slid his fingers into mine, fitting perfectly in the spaces between my fingers, as if they were meant to be there. I moved closer to him, my shoulder against his bicep, and held his forearm with my other hand. I loved that moment, and I didn't want it to end. But, it did end, all too soon. We stopped for a break, and we all sat down. Maya with Krieg, Salvador with Axton and Lilith, and me with Zero. We sat down on a rock, further away from the others.

I tapped his knee lightly to get his attention. "Hey, Zero, can I ask you something?"

He shook his head. It sounded like he was smiling. "You just did."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, can I ask you two questions?"

He laughed. "You just did."

I threw my hands up, and conceded.

He took my shoulder. "Hey. You know you can always ask me anything, right?"

I looked down. "Yeah, I know. I just, wanted to ask you… Well, this may seem odd, but… Are you… human?"

He laughed loud enough for Axton to turn his head in surprise. "Why do you ask? Are you afraid of being in love with a different species? Does inter-species dating not appeal to you?"

"I never said I'm afraid! Wait- did you say we were dating?" I felt my face get hot after saying that.

"Did I? Hmm, slip of the tongue."

I frowned. Did he mean that, or was he just joking? "Hmm, alright."

I felt embarrassed that he knew how much I cared about him, so I got up and went to see how Maya and Krieg were doing, but Zero stopped me.

"I'm sorry."

I was puzzled. "Sorry for what?"

"I'm just… sorry."

"Hey. It's okay. I just… I need something constant in my life. After everything that's happened to me in the past few months… I just need stability. It's not your fault."

He responded, puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, I guess. Listen, I'm going to see Maya and Krieg. Do you need anything?"

"Nothing I can't get myself." He sighed. "And Gaige?" He put his hand on my cheek.

He brought my face a bit closer. I sighed. "Yes?"

"I… I uh," I had never seen him struggle for his words before. "Gaige, I lo-"

"Alright, everyone! Break time over! Let's all get back together guys! Let's go kick some ass!"

Axton came over to us, put his arm around me and pulled me away from Zero. I tried to go back to him, but Axton just laughed and pulled me away.

What was he going to say? Those few words he failed to say ate away at my mind for the next hour until we got there. After that, my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of survival and strategy.


	11. Chapter 11

Lilith was right. She had no idea what was waiting for us.

"Wait, I thought the Bloodshots weren't working with Hyperion?" I asked Lilith.

She shook her head. "They weren't. But, they decided to unite against a common enemy. Us. So, we could have twice the enemies, for all we know."

"So, if that's the case, we'll have bandits, marauders, psychos, nomads and goliaths from the Bloodshots, and loaders and all other kinds of machinery from Hyperion."

Lilith sighed. "Yeah. We're going to have a hell of a time."

I laughed lightly. "Hey, Lilith. I thought you weren't coming with us?"

She smiled. "Well, I figured, if I let you guys do it alone, you'd screw up."

We walked for a few minutes until we got to the entrance. I was looking forward to the encounter, but not at the same time. If the Hyperion reconstruction stations weren't working, and if I died, I wouldn't come back. Even worse, what if Zero died? He almost did, and now, knowing that my feelings were strong for him and I cared about him, I couldn't imagine my life without him. I couldn't handle it, and I wouldn't let it happen.

"Hey, Lilith?" I whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Do the Hyperion reconstruction stations work?"

She paused, and pursed her lips. "No."

I sighed, and walked over to Zero. "So, what were you going to say?"

"If we survive, I'll tell you then."

I smiled and shook my head. "I guess I can't let you die, then."

He laughed quietly. "Not yet."

We slowly and quietly approached the first room of the six we would have to pass through. We peeked past a few barrels, and saw two nomads, three psychos and a marauder. Only the marauder was awake, and he looked groggy.

Axton smiled and nudged me. "Hey, look who was right! Nice job, sweetheart." He said, smiling, while putting his arm around my shoulder.

I smiled back. "I believe that entitles me to be listened to more often..?"

Zero pulled out his Maliwan electric elemental sniper. Nice piece of work. Axton got his turret ready, and Maya took out her SMG, while Krieg giddily help his buzz ax.

I hesitated. "Wait. Shouldn't we try to be a little more… discreet?"

Axton thought about this for a moment. "Alright, this is how it's gonna go. Zero, you take out the drowsy marauder. That'll give us the opportunity to quietly sneak up on the others. There's 5 of them sleeping, and 7 of us. So, Salvador, Krieg, and Lilith? We'll take on the nomads. Gaige, Zero and Maya? You'll take on the psychos. After we get the nomads, we'll come and assist if you need it. That cool?"

We all collectively nod.

"Alright. Let's get this shit over with."

We all held the silence for a moment, and it broke when Zero shot the marauder. He fell silently to the ground. We waited, poised, for a moment, expecting the others to wake up, but they didn't move. Axton, Salvador, Lilith and Krieg moved quietly towards the nomads, and Zero, Maya and I, towards the psychos. We looked over at the nomads, and we quietly count for synchronized assassination. I grabbed the knife at my side, and held it up. When the counting stopped, I jabbed the base of the skull, and it spurted out thick, dark red liquid. Blood. I smiled with relief. We got through the first room. I wiped off some splattered on my face, and we joined each other again.

I smiled. "That was fun."

I looked over at Zero. The " " emoticon was projected from his helmet.

I laughed quietly. Axton spoke in hushed tones. "Alright, guys. We got past the first room. Woop dee doo. That leaves 5. Chances are that they'll only progressively have more and more security."

I smiled. "Like different levels in a video game."

"Exactly. So we need a game plan. If they're all still asleep like they were in this room, we'll just use the same tactic as we did for this room."

We progressively went through the rooms that followed. It was all natural, second nature, to me now. I loved the exhilarating feel of the gun recoil, and the speed of the fire rate. I loved the power of the gun, the warmth of the fire elemental gun blast. At times like this, I felt truly alive and free. I loved every bit of it, and looking around at the others, it was clear they felt the same way. I almost ran out of assault rifle ammo, when Zero tossed me a few more mags. I smiled at him appreciatively, and a "3" emoticon appeared on his helmet. I felt my face getting hot as I blushed. We got to the final room; Roland's holding cell.

After about 10 minutes of slaughter, we finally killed all the bandits in the room. Lilith rushed to see Roland, and plucked a key from a dead bruiser, and unlocked his cell. Roland embraced her and sighed. I knew he was happy to see her. Relieved that she was still alive, just like I was when I healed Zero. I sat back and took a deep breath. I didn't realize how tired I was until it was all over. Zero sat down beside me, and put his arm around my shoulder. I rested my head on his shoulder, and closed my eyes. I listened to him breathing, just for a moment, to hear him. It wasn't quite as good as his voice, but it was comforting none the less. I loved him. For the first time, I admitted it to myself, and I wanted to admit it to him. After a while of Roland talking to Lilith and Axton, we all collectively got up.

Roland's voice was deeper and a bit louder than Axton's. He was a true leader. "Alright, guys. Beyond this wall, lie Hyperion forces. I was especially surprised to learn that the Bloodshots and Hyperion were working together. I assume for Hyperion, it was because the Bloodshots provided extra security, but they were expendable. For the Bloodshots, the alliance provided them not getting shot."

It made sense. Why didn't we think of that before?

Axton spoke up. "So, what do you suggest we do now? Go back the way we came?"

He shook his head. "No. I think we should go on to get rid of those Hyperion bastards."

"Are you sure you're up for that?"

He started stretching and picked up a Tediore corrosive elemental pistol. "Yeah, I'm sure. If we don't end this now, God knows what they'll do."

Even Lilith protested. "Come on. Do you really think you can do that right now? Do you really think you have the strength for it?"

A loader burst through the cell wall and came running towards Roland. He turned around and shot the arms off, picked up its gun and shot it down. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm ready."


	12. Chapter 12

"_Cause I lie, not because I want to, but I seem to need to all the time."_

The words from the music rushed through my ears as I fought loader after loader to get to the constructer. WAR loaders, EXP loaders,HOT loaders… Robotic limbs fell to the ground all over us. I was shooting a new wave of loaders, when I backed up into something solid. Shit. One of them had gotten behind me. I loaded my gun and turned around, preparing myself to shoot.

"Whoa, there, sweetheart. I'm not going to shoot you. I think we cleared them out for right now." Zero's voice sounded strong over the chaos around us.

I sighed in relief. "Yeah, I guess we did. You scared me, you know?"

He laughed. "Yes, I gathered from the fact that you got ready to shoot me."

I lowered my gun, loosening my grip on the trigger. "Sorry about that…"

He out his arm around my waist, and we walked towards everyone Maya and Krieg. They were holding each other playfully, smiling.

I couldn't help but smile at their overt love. "They're cute together."

Zero must've seen my blushing. "Don't you think we could be cute together, if we wanted to be?"

I smiled, and it was genuine. "Yeah. Maybe if I could see your face, we could talk." I winked at him.

His smile seemed to fade, and his laugh was more forced this time. "Ha ha… Yeah…"

We kept going, trying to find the Constructor. After about half an hour, we finally found the main base where the massive piece of machinery stood. It was surrounded by at least ten Loaders, two badasses, a few nomads and a handful of psychos. We all stood in silence, for a moment. Our breathing slowed. We were motionless, thinking. Evaluating the situation. We all looked at each other. There was no plan. We just went in. My gun felt hot in my hands, the recoil sent adrenaline coursing through my body. There was no Axton, no Maya, no Salvador and no Krieg. There was no Lilith or Roland. There wasn't even Zero. There was just me, and the Constructor. My corrosive pistol was in my hand as I rushed towards its red, glowing eye. His shield was down, and his health was nearly depleted. One single, precisely-placed bullet would do it. The world seemed to slow down. I shot my gun, and I got launched due to an EXP loader. I got up, discombobulated, dizzy and ears ringing. I looked up to find the Constructor dead, and the remaining loaders dying all around us. I fell to the ground, a sharp pain throbbing in my leg. A metal piece of shrapnel lodged itself in my thigh, causing blood to gush out. I winced, and cried out. Axton rushed over with a rejuvenator. The world was spinning, and my head felt like it was going to split open. He jabbed the needle in my thigh, above the laceration, and I cried out yet again, out of pure pain. The pain quickly subsided, and I got up, my head still lightly throbbing. I looked around to find Zero, but he wasn't anywhere to be found.

"Where's Zero?"

Axton looked to the ground, lost for words. "I… I'm sorry…"

"What? What happened?!"

"We lost him somewhere in rubble…We couldn't find him… I think he…"

"No… No... Not him… That's not possible…"

I doubled over, cradling my head in my hands. This couldn't have happened… I couldn't let it… It wasn't possible… It just wasn't…

Axton sat down beside me. "We don't know exactly where he is… He could be alive, somewhere…" His fake enthusiasm just turned the knife and made me bleed more.

"I… I didn't even tell him I love him… He'll never know… I'll never tell him… Zero… Zero…"

Maya spoke softly. "Gaige…"

The rest of their words were wasted on me. I was only thinking of him, how I'd never tell him I loved him, how he'd never take off his mask for me, how we'd never kiss…

"Zero… Zero I love you… I love you… Why… Why did you leave…? Didn't you love me..?"

I had to know for sure. I had to find his body. I had to know for sure that he was gone. It was all that was left of my existence. I loved him, and this was my last mission. This would be the last love song on this dying planet.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Gaige**_

Zero was all that was on my mind. My friends chose to humour me, and let me pursue anything that was left of Zero. I loved him and I needed to find his body. We followed anything we could find. Witnesses, trails, leads. Anything. Finally, after a few days, we caught a break. Someone in Overlook had seen a Hyperion prison truck pass by with Zero inside, or so they thought. Hope welled up inside me. Maybe he was alive! Maybe I could finally hold him, tell him everything I wanted to tell him… excitement and a new-found energy coursed through my body, pumping me up for the search to come.

"I feel relieved. I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I can't help it. He could be alive!"

Axton smiled. "Well, now we all know you aren't crazy." He winked at me.

Maya hugged me. "This could be it. We could find him and bring him back."

I was so happy, a million skags and bullymongs and rakks couldn't bring me down. I had to find him, and for the first time, I felt like I had a chance.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Zero**_

For the first time in about 8 hours, they gave me a glass of water. The Dust was so dry and hot, even in my suit, the heat killed me. It was too hot to be in direct sunlight for this long. The marauders driving the transport truck snickered and laughed at me. They went on about how they would torture and hurt Gaige. I didn't even know how they knew about her, but that was the one thing I couldn't stand. She was my weak point, and I wouldn't stand for it.

The first marauder turned back. "I can't wait to drag my knife down her stomach and let her insides pour out, and watch her scream and beg like an animal. We'll make her death slow and fucking painful."

I felt rage welling up inside me. "If you touch her once/your life, along with his," I gestured toward his friend. "will end most cruelly." My voice sounded strong, intimidating. I didn't feel this way.

I felt, for the first time, scared. Not for me, but for Gaige. Was this what it was like to love? In the end, would I even be able to tell how I felt about her? I was so mad at myself. How could I let her slip through my fingers? Keeping her seemed like catching smoke with my hands. I couldn't do it. I couldn't let her die, or myself, without letting her know how I felt. All this sublime flirting over the last few months suddenly wasn't enough. I had to have her in my arms, her knowing how much I care.

The second marauder turned back giddily and looked at me. "Jack wants it kept a secret, but do you wanna know why we kidnapped you?"

The first one nudged him. "Dude, no. But it would be funny to see his reaction." He said, giggling.

"Just a hint, then?"

"Haha, okay okay I give in! Just tell him already!"

The second marauder looked me straight in the eyes. "We're going to use you against what you love most in this world."

They continued their exchange of laughing and daydreaming. I wasn't stupid. I knew what they were going to do. What I didn't know was how they were going to do it. And, a more probing question, how could I stop them in time?


	15. Chapter 15

_**Gaige **_

After a few hours, we got to The Dust. The trail of Hyperion tire tracks led to there, but the sandstorms have swept away any and all tracks beyond that. My heart sank.

"Alright. Where now?"

Krieg was looking at nowhere in particular, mumbling to himself. "NO. NO I WONT. ARGH. OKAY FINE I'LL DO IT."

I whispered to Maya. "Um..?"

She sighed, smiling. "He's arguing with himself. His normal side with his… psycho side."

Krieg looked at us. "ZERO'S ON THAT MOUNTAIN!"

He pointed to the Buzzard camp on the mountain. Goddamn it, I hate Buzzards.

"How do you know?" I asked him.

Maya answered. "Despite being a psycho, he was, in the past, actually a genius."

I raised my eyebrow. "You two seem to have… opened up to each other quite a bit." I said, winking.

She blushed and turned away. "Ahem, let's go find your boyfriend, why don't we?"

I smiled. We made our way to the Buzzard camp panting and sweating in the heat of the desert. i knew the odds weren't exactly in our favour for this, but I knew I would do whatever it took to get him back.

"So, um, what's our plan? It's not exactly like they'll just let us prance in there and take him away." I whispered as we approached the marauder guards.

Lilith smiled. "I can phaseblast a few of em for you."

Maya elbowed her playfully. "And I can phaselock a few, to boot."

Axton loaded a few guns. "Yeah, and I'll pull out my turret."

"Not much of a… Ahem, structured plan but hey, random's kinda my thing." I said, smiling.

We all rushed in after the marauders, screaming profanities, laughing like psychos, bathing in blood. In short, it was pretty damn awesome. This was why I became a vault hunter. Not to kill, but to have moments of bliss where I felt on top of the world, pumped full of adrenaline. This was my life, and hell, I loved it. I knew how this was going to end. I would save Zero, and we would all live badassily ever after, kicking ass and shootin' up marauders. Yeah, this was the life. If only we could find Zero… but I knew we could find him. I knew it. We had to, and we were too close to give up now.


	16. Chapter 16

When I woke up again, I woke to the sound of buzzing and marauders laughing and playing knarts. I looked around more, the fog in my head clearing, and I saw that I was in a tent somewhere. I couldn't move much. I was restrained to a metal plate or some sort of metal. It was cold against my back, and it made me shiver slightly. I looked up to find a Hyperion officer of some sort, obviously with a lot more power than these bandits, and he began walking over to where I was.

"I suppose you're wondering why you're here, aren't you?"

I grunted. "I figured it out/you wish to utilize me/as a sort of pawn."

He sighed. "Well, you aren't as stupid as we may have thought. Your strength, unlike your intelligence, however, has not been underestimated." He pulled a remote out of his pocket. "When I press this button, you will be injected with a serum that we have programmed to control you. With this power, we could use you against Sanctuary, your friends," he paused. "Gaige…"

I snapped. "You touch her, you fucking die, I swear to God."

He laughed. "What if you were to wake up, holding her dead corpse in your arms, with your bullet in her head? What would you do? What could you do?"

"I would hunt you down."

"And if we kept you under simulation forever?"

"…"

"That's what I thought."

"They'll come for me."

"Oh, will they? I doubt that. Do you think anyone other than Gaige gives a damn about you?"

His smile faded when we heard a loud explosion not too far from where I was being kept.

A marauder rushed in, frantic. "It's them. They got through the initial defenses, and destroyed our turrets and half our Buzzards!"

The man, after a moment, smiled devilishly. "I suppose it's time to use our secret weapon," he looked at me, his hollow eyes glaring. "don't you think?"


	17. Chapter 17

_**Gaige **_

Axton's walkie talkie went off and Tiny Tina's voice rang through.

"Heyyyyyy girlfriennddd! How's-it-goin-gimme-a-high-five-yeah-that's-right! I heard you guys trying to bust Zero outta jail? Yeah that's cool that's cool! TIME TO GO BOOOOMMMMMMM!"

We waited for a few moments, and the watch tower overlooking the camp exploded, as well as the storage units for the Buzzards.

Axton spoke into his walkie talkie. "Tina, you're a genius!"

"Yeah yeah yeah I know I know now tell my home girl to get her boy outta there!"

I smiled. We kept going for a few minutes when we spotted the tent they were keeping him in. the ash settled a bit more, and there were no bandits to be found. Zero walked out of the tent.

"Zero!" I ran up to him and hugged him, but he didn't hug back. "Zero? What's wrong?"

He stayed silent, staring.

"Zero…?"

He shook me off and threw me towards Axton and Maya.

I felt blood running down my forehead, but I was in too much shock to notice.

We were all in shock. Maya spoke, but barely. "Zero… what the hell…"

A Hyperion officer came out of the tent after Zero, smiling. "Do you like him? We injected him with a sort of, well, mind control device? That sounds so primitive. I'm afraid he'll kill you all, and not know any of you as he does it. Well, I do apologize, but I will enjoy watching him kill you."

I pulled out my pistol, and aimed it at his head. I shot him, square in the forehead. "You think he would've had more protection than that."

Axton spoke, monotone. "I think he was counting on the electric shield around the tent. I suppose the EMP from Tina's blast took em out, at least temporarily."

"… Lucky shot. Zero? Zero, are you okay?"

He stood there, ever motionless.

Lilith spoke to me softly. "Gaige, honey, I think we need to… fight him."

"No… You mean kill him… I can't let that happen. I can't have him die. Not again."

"We have to…"


	18. Chapter 18

_**Zero **_

I knew what was happening. That was the worst part. I knew they had injected me. Is this what Krieg's normal side feels like? Seeing, but never able to do anything about what's going on, but trying to appeal as much as possible to the unstable side? As soon as I threw Gaige, I was screaming. I had to stop this. At any cost. Even if it meant dying. I loved her, and I would do anything for her. And I would die for her in an instant, if it came down to it. They started shooting at me, and I saw Gaige trying to hold them back, screaming, crying. I couldn't watch this. What's worse is that I started shooting back. I hated myself. I hated every moment that passed. It all felt like it was in slow motion. One of them hit me, in the arm. That's when I realized that I didn't have a shield. Damn it. I had less time than I thought. I had to stop myself, but no matter how loud I yelled, no matter how much I cried or pleaded, I wouldn't stop. It was impossible. They kept shooting me. One bullet hit my thigh, the other lodged itself in my shoulder. I went down, but I had control now. I was free, but it was too late. I was going to die here, and I wanted to see Gaige one more time before I did. I had to tell her so much in so little time.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Gaige **_

Zero went down. That's all I knew. Salvador was lying on the ground, wincing, and Roland was holding Lilith, trying to nurse a wound. I ran over to Zero, crying.

"Zero... Oh, Zero, why did you have to go like this? There was so much… so much you should've done… so much WE should've done, together…"

He slowly answered. "And I am sorry we'll never be able to do them together, Gaige."

I hugged him, careful not to hurt him, but I had to hold him. "Zero… I love you so much…"

He sat up slowly, wincing as he did it, and took off his helmet slowly. "I had to see you with my own eyes. I love you Gaige. I always have. I just wanted you to know that."

His face was just like I had imagined. It was beautiful, and now, as I saw it, life was leaving his eyes. I cried. "Please don't go… please… I love you…"

"I won't really leave you. Isn't that what people are supposed to say to comfort others? I'm not well-versed in this kind of thing."

I laughed, tears still falling. "Yeah, that'll do just fine."

I slowly brought my lips to his, and, for a brief moment, we kissed. It was slow and meaningful; it was the perfect kiss. In a final embrace, he went limp in my arms, and I just sat there, holding the hollow shell that used to be Zero.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Gaige **_

He was gone. Now I knew for sure. There was no going back from this. I sobbed and sobbed as I held his corpse. Axton came over to tell me that Salvador was gone, too, as well as Lilith. My heart broke into so many pieces I didn't feel anything except sorrow. Deep, cutting sorrow. All of a sudden, the lights went out, then back on. The EMP from the blast must've caused a system reboot of some sort. The body I was holding began to disappear. Small squares of blue circled his body, and he vanished.

_A system reboot! Jesus Christ, that could mean the New-U stations in this area temporarily rebooted too!_

"Axton!" I yelled through my tears. "Where's the closest New-U station?"

"Uh, near the entrance to this place. Why?"  
"You idiot, turn around! Look at their bodies!" Following suit to Zero, Salvador and Lilith's bodies began to disappear. "The EMP that disabled the power must've caused a system reboot to the whole damn area! Which means-"

"-that the New-U stations could work now! Oh my God Gaige you're a genius!"

I smiled. "Come on! Grab Roland, Maya and Krieg. Let's go see if they're alive!"

I could hardly wait to see if he was alive. I could barely wait for the others to move their damn asses so I could see. We all ran back to the entrance to the New-U, but we didn't see Zero, Salvador or Lilith.

Roland spoke in a grim tone. "Fuck you for making me have hope. I hate you." and he sat back down and started crying. "Now I don't even have a body to bury…"

I sat down and cried, too. "I'm sorry… I'm so so sorry…"

Just moments after we sat down, the station lit up and started buzzing. After a few seconds, Lilith appeared before us, speechless.

"I, uh, hey."

Roland immediately ran up to her and hugged her. Following her was Salvador. We all hugged him, but me longer than the others.

"I thought you were dead…"

He laughed. "Haha, no, señorita, it'll take more than a few bullets to stop me."

I laughed. But I was still waiting for my Zero to show up in a flash of blue. I waited a few moments. After 5 minutes, it seemed hopeless. I convinced everyone else to stay the night, just to be sure. But, after the night, it was clear I'd never have my hero back.


End file.
